Moroccan Teen’s Dream of Better Life in Spain Meets Harsh Reality

"I have to find a job, I need a contract of at least twelve months full-time," explains Ilias, a brilliant student who at the age of 16 had already finished high school in Morocco, before deciding to go to Galicia in search of better opportunities. "I thought I would have more work and study options," he says, adding that integration has not been easy. "I didn’t understand the language, I felt like a foreigner and didn’t know what to do," says the Moroccan who was placed by the police in a minor protection center in La Coruña.

He currently resides in a minor center of the NGO Igaxes in Pontevedra. Over the three years he has spent in Galicia, he has completed a middle cycle and obtained his ESO diploma. "He is a very good student, tenacious and hardworking," says Pilar Ramallal, educator and coordinator of the center’s units, who denounces the difficulties in obtaining a residence and work permit for these young people when they reach the age of majority. This pushes them to live illegally.

"I came in search of a better life, but sometimes it seems worse," he says dejectedly. Given the difficult conditions, Ilias has advised his younger brother not to join him. "Why will he come if I haven’t found a job? The young people who return to Morocco make people believe that life is beautiful and pleasant here, but that is not the case," specifying that foreign minors arrive in Spain with many apprehensions and expectations that do not always correspond to reality.

But Ilias remains optimistic and determined, come what may. He has no intention of giving up and intends to fight with all his might to realize his dreams of studying and, perhaps, reaching university. In any case, he remains hopeful that his situation will improve and that he will obtain the job contract he is so desperately seeking.